Batangas haul: Gun, shabu seized from motorcyclist in checkpoint

LUCENA CITY — A motorcycle-riding drug pusher was arrested Monday and yielded an illegal firearm and shabu (crystal meth) after a brief chase with police manning a checkpoint in Tuy town in Batangas province.

The Region 4A police reported on Tuesday, July 16, that cops conducting “Oplan Sita,” a routine anti-criminality inspection, flagged down motorcyclist “Samuel” in Barangay Luntal at 1 p.m. for driving a vehicle without a plate number and without wearing a crash helmet.

Wearing protective headgear for motorcyclist riders is mandated under the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009.

The rider disregarded the cops, who ordered him to stop and sped off, prompting the police to chase him until he was arrested.

When frisked, the police found Samuel carrying an undocumented caliber .38 revolver with four bullets.

The cops also found him in alleged possession of three plastic sachets containing shabu weighing 5.51 grams worth P37,468.

The authorities also discovered that the suspect was on the police watch list as a street-level drug pusher in the locality.

The suspect was placed under police custody and is facing criminal charges, including violation of the firearm law and anti-drugs law.

The police also impounded Samuel’s motorcycle.